Our friends at Direct Hits recently published this advice for making the most of your Junior year and we thought we should share it with you. Also if you’re getting ready for the SAT or PSAT you should pick up their books which has a great list of words that commonly appear on the SAT.

For those of you who are juniors, the HALCYON days of summer have come to an end and the dreaded year has begun. While you may be feeling DISCOMFITED or even TIMOROUS about the upcoming year, let us DISPEL the PERVASIVE rumors that junior year is necessarily going to be the BANE of your existence, presenting only INSURMOUNTABLE challenges. Although 11th grade can be stressful, you can DEVISE and IMPLEMENT a FEASIBLE plan to THWART the customary headaches of junior year.

The best way to MITIGATE the PROLIFERATING academic, extracurricular, and social stresses of junior year is to get organized. METICULOUSLY maintain a calendar of all your commitments: paper due dates, activities, SAT dates, college fairs, and any other obligations. Your calendar will help you to manage your time wisely and to fit your college visits around the rest of your life.

Research online and CULL from the many options a list of colleges that appeal to you. There are MYRIAD aspects of college to PONDER, among them size, cost, strength of various academic departments, and location. Consider whether you’d prefer an URBAN setting or a more PROVINCIAL MILIEU. The OPTIMAL time to visit a college is when school is in session, to get a sense of the “tone” of a school and whether you can see yourself there.

It is critical that you not get behind in your school work. Falling behind will only EXACERBATE the stress of this INDISPUTABLY demanding year. The DEARTH of time in which to AMELIORATE any weaknesses on your transcript makes it IMPERATIVE that you stay on top of your responsibilities.

This is the year when your PSAT scores count. Doing well could mean achieving National Merit recognition. It would be PRUDENT for you to prepare for the October PSAT. By taking the time to prepare, you can become an ADROIT and confident test taker ready to face the next hurdle, the SAT or ACT, with FORTITUDE and RESOLUTENESS. You can register for the SAT here, and you can find the ACT registration here. Note that last year the College Board implemented extra security measures for the SAT to PRECLUDE any CHICANERY. The College Board now PRESCRIBES that you

upload a photo of yourself during online registration for the test. The photo will appear on your admissions ticket and on the roster at the test sites; it will also be attached to any score reports sent to high schools and colleges.

You can NEGOTIATE the difficulties of the INFAMOUS junior year. HISTRIONICS won’t help; a calm, PRAGMATIC, organized approach will. Approach the challenges UNDAUNTED, and have a great junior year! If you want to learn more SAT vocabulary, get the Direct Hits vocabulary books now!